Revenge of the Duchess

Chapter 17

Some of the men were back sooner from the hunt than Annabeth had expected, but she paid little attention since Percy was not among them. She was able to ignore all the noise of the hunters showing their lovers what they had caught. Even Soleia and Kelli had stopped bothering her to observe what the men had caught.

There were a fair number of men dedicating their catches to Soleia, and a few men even to Kelli. Annabeth supposed that the given Baroness title to Kelli had attracted a few hungry sharks. Inwardly, she wished that Luke had come back at the moment and seen Kelli flirt with the men. It would be such an enjoyable sight to see Luke and Kelli fight. After all, cheaters were always bound to cheat again.

"The Duke was holding a woman? Oh, my, who is she?"

Annabeth's ears instantly perked up at the mention of the Duke. The other women weren't even trying to be quiet, deliberately raising their voices so they could be heard.

The woman currently gossiping smirked at Annabeth. "My man told them the a man who looked like the Duke personally carried the woman into the Duke's carriage. The woman looked to be in pretty bad shape. Do you think he was planning a rendezvous with his secret lover?"

"You think the Duke has already picked up a secondary wife or concubine right in front of his fiancee? Wow, and even before he's officially married!"

"I didn't think the Duke was like that, acting all lovey-dovey with his fiancee while he played around with other women."

"Oh, my. What are your thoughts on this, Lady Annabeth?"

The other women giggled, hiding their cruel expressions behind their fans or teacups. Their eyes glanced at Annabeth, hoping to see an enraged expression. Instead, the laughter quickly turned nervous as Annabeth's gray eyes stared piercingly back. For those who had the unfortunate circumstance of meeting her gaze felt as though her eyes could see into them. Annabeth had no intention of backing down like a piece of meat in front of rabid lions.

"Lady Anita," Annabeth drawled. "You say your husband only said a man who looked like the Duke carried a woman. In other words, you cannot ascertain that my fiance is the one in the rumors. I would hope you refrain from spreading such rumors. In fact, I believe you should be worrying about your own husband's eyes wandering."

"That's-" Lady Anita shut up.

Annabeth had hit a sore spot. Lady Anita's husband often frequented brothels and had gotten a woman pregnant there. More embarrassing for Lady Anita was not that her husband had looked for outside women, but he'd dared to bring the woman and son back and instate them as a secondary wife. Lady Anita's husband even treated the son as if he was the next heir.

"I hear your husband is negotiating a contract with the Duke's company." Annabeth turned to Baroness Sophia, who shrank back at being targeted. The baroness had been constantly adding fuel to the fire. "It seems your husband will have to work harder from now on."

"Are you threatening me?" Baroness Sophia stood up at her table, nearly tipping over her teacup.

"Oh, my, why would the Baroness Sophia think of it like that?" Annabeth shot back. "I merely said for your husband to increase his effort."

Aside from the princesses, who were sitting far away underneath the royal tent, Annabeth would soon have the highest title of Duchess. Since Percy was the cousin of the royal prince and princesses, she was technically even marrying into royalty. There was nothing to fear about fighting back at all the rumors. She planned on establishing the standard that she was not one to be offended or the offender would suffer huge consequences.

Annabeth had scoffed at the vicious gossip, but she couldn't help but feel an ounce of worry. The years she had spent with Percy in her second life couldn't have indicated Percy was similar to Luke. Had something else happened?